It's been three years since taxpayers bailed out the banks. "Too big to fail" hasn't been abolished. But some things are changing as David Wessel explains on The News Hub's 'Capital Corner' segment.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

going ... the ... banking ... is still as European regulators trying to do something about it ... after this bright ... with back with all the news of the ads only SJ lie ... on Simon Constable that's the mine continues with me ... three years on from the ban on some banking is still a mass night European regulators Allegiant thinks ... that particular situation David Wessel joins us now from Washington DC was with the title to explain ... how that doing that it's all bought cushions right ... I mean basically there's one way you can have banks are not too big to fail ... it's the smaller banks ... but this system is opted not to do that ... and instead what they have decided to do is to tax the very biggest banks ... to add even more capital than the typical back ... it's called a surcharge to the idea is ... that these guys go bust ... they do today GM is not just their shells creditors ... but all of us ... and so they should be on its debts forced the attacks to do that ... and there's all these headlines are pre occupying it's about what's going on in Europe it's quite scary ... it's so so-called surcharge ... is working its way through the international regulatory think you're probably be approved before the end of the year and now the ... natural reaction to this'll be is that you would believe the market is responding to does that over time ... of the banks will bring themselves to actually have ... a smaller banks are valued highly more than the because they don't have to pay this tax ... right so ... what's wrong with that I mean if you are the ones ... that ... EITF ... the idea is that ... there shouldn't be a sentence in the system to get so big ... that you don't have to worry about ever going to set up the value at ... a Christian is that it's really hard and Ciris ... of the two banks have to be ... due to what we needed to do a global economy with really big companies ... it looks like the banks wants a bigger bigger hair ... the regulators saying ... we're not so sure ... Anderson tension ... it is that at any economy of scale with with banking that that mean that means much I'm ... you know I'm slamming because because of this month if a relatively small or medium-sized bank can do pretty much what a big ... bank to do that this this would make sense right ... we know that there are huge global companies big multi nationals into bits all over the world ... to name a one as banks that was that this all over the world ... no one is saying that ... the role for big banks ... it is just what we think about trucks on the highway we don't wanna do away with big trucks right way they carry stuff they're very efficient ... we know that when they get an accident they can damage a lot of innocent bystanders so we have different standards for trucks that are buried at the same thing with big banks ... what what turns ... the thing was that he gets the moronic gets implemented and actually walk speak of that there are their number puzzles that ... we gotta put in place ... you now and then discover walk ... tickets are unlikely to get through ... the big banks are ... not very popular at the moment ... idea seems to be a lot of momentum behind this ... within the group of twenty leading economies the world ... leaders will ratify it in time to later this fall ... it does have to be adopted by individual governments ... and some of them are kind of holding to their banks may get diluted ... as does that ... will work it's really impossible question ... going to look at it is doing nothing would be a mistake get what we've just been through ... this is probably not a perfect solution ... I think it's better than not doing it all right a couple things in her mind as the U S government of course to push banks to gather at the height of the financial crisis that we saw J P Morgan ... I devour Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual we saw ... the ... chairman of the Fed ... and Tim Geithner put together a Merrill Lynch and Bank of America so that was the expedient thing back in at the height of the crisis ... its return to do is if you're going to be really a good weekend as it bigger ... you have to pay a premium for that ... because you have a special government insurance is too big to fail ... if you like it ... to sell lots of the Retzler Sultanate if they if they do this in your up does this happen here in us to ... twenty think it is the only really ... say that this will let ... me ... call the National Retail is joining hands to be to do something similar ... and this is you know Basel committee of bank supervisors which ... sounds like some Khona wine drinking club or something ... it's actually ... pretty steals us to ... make this this week ... but the ... finishing touches on their part of the proposed mine I think it's inevitable over time there will be pressure to break up the bank so we ... really go back to pre classical ninety nine and so ... I JPMorgan ... of Morgan Stanley all those banks were ... mandated to commercial banks and ... banks are able I think the pressure will build for those of us makers sentiment in the summer on ... we don't need view of sea ... ice will will will save will see soon enough ... thank you very much David Wessel all the Wall Street don't be sure to check out David's ... Levitz colony capital column until this Datacom and in the pitot tomorrow